Thought I would try out an idea I had for a strut tower brace. Its made with three pieces of 1/8" aluminum making it 3/8 "thick and 2" wide. The thought was to design it like an I-beam for strength. Still have to finish the back two bars to make it a three point design before mounting it to the towers for some testing.

 

some pictures sitting in the car

 

thats a different approach. Should be sturdy enough i would think

 

although interesting. Not sure on the strength at all. Rivets and aluminum not a good mix. most aluminum STB that you see is made from tubing, welded with rod ends... which is much stronger than that.

Creative yes... structually not so much.

 

Those are actually stainless steel button head bolts. its actually quite strong, I tried bending it before I mounted it in the car Friday. I have only put 20mi on it so far, so we will see how it turns out.

 

Myself also have been fabricating my own STB with moly pipe I got from work. Was very unhappy with the one they sell for my 83 Camaro. Will post some pics asap.

 

since its bolted together now, you have the option to take it to a welder and have it welded up

 

YES, excactly. Like I said, this was a trial of a design I thought of. I know the aftermarket industry is using tubing and rod ends(which I had also made but was un happy with). There final goal is to make money, so they use what is inexspensive and easy to fabricate. My final goal is something strong, lightweight, and not over priced.

 

Rivets and aluminum not a good mix? Quick, someone let the aviation industry know this!

Until the word gets out, don't fly on any planes.

 

:twothumbsup: I was thinking the same thing. many and many of bucked and popped rivets in the sky.

 

Riveted aluminum, when done properly, is stronger than welding. The introduction of heat causes aluminum to weaken and become brittle. Snowmobile chassis (in addition to aircraft) is a good example. Newer, lighter sleds use more rivets and less welds in order to make stronger, lighter chassis.

 

Well now I don't want to get in the middle but the last post Jim85IROC make sense to me. Of coarse who am I?

 

I have now put 250mi on car commuting back and forth to work in Dallas traffic. I love how it tightened my front end and eliminated some more rattles just like when I added my sub frame connectors. These cars seem to like it when you strengthen/stiffen the chassis.

 

very cool! its nice to see someone think outside the box. it looks pretty strong. heres a pic of a tpi brace i made a few years ago. not aluminum though.

 

Realized I never posted the final version. Turned out pretty good and solid. holding up great without any problems

 

I had added a brake booster brace to my strut tower brace after reading about another member on hear

showing how much flex they have. This brace has been on the car for a number of years now and have had zero issues or failures. Plan on building a new version soon for my Firebird

 

The question is: when are you going to polish it?

 

A polished billet piece would be really cool.....and really expensive, lol

 

I like the look of it. Nice work. Could you expand on the brake booster brace? I've never heard of that.

 

check in the brake section for master cylinder brace.
I took a video of how much movement i have after installing it. Currently awaiting the swivel end for the bolt i used as i only have the bolt end rounded off

 

I like the idea and it gives the engine bay an interesting look.

I took a different approach to an aluminum STB on my old race car. I just used an aftermarket aluminum panhard bar and welded brackets directly to the strut tower. It was very quick and easy to do and worked great. This method could work on a TPI car too if you bend the bar.

 

You have a very clean engine bay, and i like the ease of removal of yours. Oddly enough i have an aluminum panhard bar on my car i bought from a local member. I have A slightly modified design that will run down the side of the strut tower as well as along the top going onto my Firebird. There is no wrong way to brace these as i noticed alot of difference adding mine. Just comes down to what fits with your engine combo. I think the Carb/TBI gives a little more needed clearance in the front for a straight across approach

 

Here’s what I ended up doing. DOM 1.25”x1/8” tubing. 1/4” plate on the tower which has tabs welded on and the caster camber plates bolt through everything making the whole tower thick and sturdy.

 

I love the simplicity of this. I'm going to have to copy it now!

 

I dont think i ever saw anyone run the brace on the backside of the strut mount like that. Very nice. Quick question, what washer tank are you running. Love the car

 

it was necessity, the bar wouldn’t fit forward of the motor as the hood insulation is knotched for the map sensor bc it’s so close. Lots more room on the firewall side.

it’s the stock washer tank from my 87 formula. I’ve converted it to my water meth reservoir.

 

I made a new version of an Aluminum strut brace for my firebird after getting the idea from modifying the original to clear a HSR. This has 2 1/4"X2" aluminum flat stock bent and bolted together. still need to finish up the back point

bars as i am waiting on some parts to complete

 

Looks good. Let us know how it performs and how it holds up over time.